In the wake of a couple of recent fatalities due to avalanches in the Lower Mainland, a reminder for people to be careful out there.
Kamloops Search and Rescue’s Jenn Stahn says while conditions might look good in Kamloops, outside the city, it’s a different picture.
“You go just outside of, and the avalanche risk is quite considerable in a lot of areas,” she said. “The way the layers have been built up because of the kind of winter we’ve had, make it very risky.”
Another concern, she notes, is because conditions look so good to the naked eye, some people aren’t as prepared as they should be if they’re heading out into the backcountry.
“Say you’re going out to Lac Du Bois to explore, it does look so nice right now that you’re going to go out now and maybe not be as prepared as you should be for the amount of snow, how cold it still gets overnight,” Stahn added.
“Being underprepared is an issue that we’re seeing with snowmobilers, snowshoers, and people that are just hiking out in general. That’s something we want people to be thinking about.”
Stahn adds that people should also expect conditions to change very quickly as it’s still winter.